Oh gods of fan fiction, I beg forgiveness for neglecting my duties as a writer. Though to be honest, it's been a busier summer than I imagined. I'M SO SORRY! Please enjoy. :)
And also, don't ask me about Whisper's magic nonrip clothing, because I'm still trying to figure out how the Hulk's shirt tears to shreds but his pants never do. IT'S NOT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE! Okay, I'm done.
"So, you all have powers?" I said in amazement as the three of us were hiking back to the manhole. "Patch? Shadow?"
"Yeah," said Ace, who was walking alongside me. Jet was far ahead of us, ignoring our conversation. "Patch can heal people. Like, their injuries and stuff."
"Wait...oh! That explains yesterday!" I said. "She stabbed herself. And then-"
"The wound was healed like magic," Ace finished for me.
"Yeah!" Well that cleared up some stuff. "And Shadow? What can he do?"
"Shadow's power is...well, it's hard to explain. He'll probably want to show you himself," Ace replied.
"And Oracle is a psychic," I said.
"And read minds," added Ace.
"So Oracle knows who Egon and I are?"
"Most likely," said Ace, nodding.
"Does she ever show her face?"
"Nope. In fact, she doesn't even talk to anybody normally. Except for Jet. Jet's pretty much second in command next to Oracle."
"Hey, Jet!" I called up to the archeress. "What's your power?"
Jet stopped dead. She whipped her head around and squinted her dark brown eyes at me. Even from fifty feet away, I felt my face heat up under her sharp glare. "I don't have one," she said icily, then continued marching forward.
"Yeesh," I said. "I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much."
"Join the club," muttered Ace.
We reached the manhole and climbed below. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. Jet led us to the common room. On the way, we passed the mysterious Oracle's room. I took a moment and just stared at the door. There was something so strange about the woman, though what I couldn't put my finger on...
"Hey. You coming?" called Jet.
"Uh, yeah!" I said and took off after the kids.
"Oh, thank God!" said Shadow, jumping up from the array of computer screens as we came in. He rushed over and hugged his twin. "Jet, what the hell happened? One minute, I'm watching you just milling around in the street, and suddenly those things are everywhere!"
"I don't know," said Jet. "I gotta talk to Oracle. I'll be back." And then she left swiftly.
Egon, who had been sitting with Shadow at the computer table, came over to me and held me tightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," I whispered, "God, I was so scared!...But I'm okay now." I smiled.
Egon smiled, kissed me, and then hugged me some more.
"So, Shadow," I said, changing the subject. "Ace told me you all have...certain abilities?"
Shadow let out a slight snort. "Yeah, I guess you can call it that."
"Jennifer, what are you talking about? 'Certain abilities'?" asked Egon.
"She's talking about this," said Shadow, stepping into a dark corner. He stood there for a second, and then...vanished.
"Wha-where'd he go?" said Egon, shocked.
"Right here," said a voice from behind.
We turned around to see Shadow emerging from the space behind the door. "How did you do that?" I said, only mildly surprised.
The boy shrugged. "Shadow travel. That's how I got my name."
"You can manipulate spaces of darkness as your own personal wormholes?" said Egon, astonished.
"Uh...yeah," said Shadow, pushing the shaggy black hair out of his eyes. "It's useful for making an escape when I need to."
"What about you?" I said, looking at the quiet girl sitting on the couch, reading a book. "What do you do?"
Whisper looked up with innocent hazel eyes. "Oh, I...um-"
"Go ahead," said Shadow, smiling warmly. "Show them."
Whisper slowly stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of her clothes awkwardly. Then she stood up straight and tall and clinched her eyes shut. Then suddenly, she started to grow.
"Whoa," I said, moving back.
Whisper slowly went from being five foot six to six foot, then to seven foot, then eight foot. Her head brushed the ceiling. Whisper's eyes popped open and looked down at us bashfully. The girl was almost twice as tall as me.
"She can grow as tall as a hundred feet when she needs to," said Shadow proudly.
"Holy...crap," I said, dumbstruck. I definitely hadn't been expecting that.
Whisper shrank back down to her normal size. She smiled shyly. Shadow put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
"And you," I said, looking lastly at the last person in the room-Wrench. "What's your power?"
Wrench smiled mischieviously. "I thought you'd never ask."
The big black man walked over to the couch where Whisper had been sitting and lifted the end of it with one hand.
"Super strength?! No way!" I exclaimed.
"That's nothing," said Wrench, grinning. He placed his other hand on the underside of the couch and picked up the whole piece of furniture off of the ground like it was paper-mache.
Egon and I burst into applause. "Bravo!" I shouted.
"Well done," said Jet, coming in the room. "Now put the couch back down. We all need to talk."
A chill went through the air.
"I told Oracle what happened outside with the Skinheads," said Jet. "As you all saw, they're clearly evolving. Pretty soon, we won't even be able to leave headquarters without risk of an ambush. If it hadn't been for Ace and Jennifer, I...wouldn't be alive."
"Hey, those creepers ain't got donkey dung on us!" said Ace confidently. "You saw how us three took out that mob. There were like, what, twenty of 'em? We can handle whatever the Gedd throws at us."
"I don't think so, Ace," said Jet gravely. "Oracle said that there's a whole lot more Skinheads where those came from today. Don't you see? They're getting faster, stronger, and smarter. There's only one way to settle this...we have to fight."
We were all very quiet.
"Jet...are you serious?" said Shadow slowly.
"I've never been more serious in my life," said Jet firmly.
"You can't be talking about war," I whispered.
"Yes. I am."
"But...why?" I said desperately.
"Because," said Jet. "If we continue to sit here and pick them off as they come, they'll eventually scout us out. In the two years we've been here, I'm surprised they haven't already. Armageddon and his men will come for us, and they will kill us. We have to strike now, while the iron is hot, and take Armageddon out. Once their leader falls, they all will."
"This is what Oracle told you," I demanded.
"Yes."
"And you believe her?"
Jet looked haughty. "Oracle saved my life. I owe her my allegiance."
"You don't even know her! She could be a delusional lunatic!" I exclaimed. "You want to risk your lives on the word of some crazy hermit?! You don't know Armageddon. He's too powerful! You can't win!"
"I know Armageddon!" yelled Jet. "He killed my father! He killed my grandmother! And he would have killed me and my brother if my mother hadn't sacrificed herself to save us!"
The rest of the room was faint. Right now, it was me and this little warrior.
Jet took a breath. "Get your weapons ready. We move out in two days."
The door slammed shut behind her.
The whole room was staring at me, and I didn't care.
